Beware the Shadows
by kaynibbler16
Summary: Rose Tyler works for Torchwood, a group of paranormal investigators, that has been asked to investigate claims of a haunting on the Smith Estate. What they discover there is nothing like they have ever seen before and they need to band together if they all want to make it out alive.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N**: Thought I'd try out some alternate universe and this is the result. This story is un-betaed, so if you see any spelling errors or mistakes please let me know. Other than that, feedback is wonderful so please leave a comment or two. I hope you enjoy it! =)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters.

* * *

Rose Tyler hauled the rest of the equipment into the back of the van for their newest assignment. She and the rest of the team had been asked to investigate claims about an old house that's been scaring the locals for years now. They often got requests from the owners of the homes they investigated, but not this time. The old caretaker of the house, Wilfred Mott, asked them personally if they would take a look. Well, him and a majority of the little village that lived there.

Rose wouldn't deny that she was curious about this home.

From what they'd been told it was actually an old mansion that had been in the area for generations, owned by the same family; the Smiths. According to Jack, their boss, the family had been known for their eccentricity and it wasn't uncommon to hear loud bangs or small explosions coming from the estate.

Rose thought over the conversation that they'd had a few weeks ago about the house, particularly the incident from ten years ago. Jack called them in to discuss their plan of attack for this investigation and the basic history of the estate, but mostly the recent events.

A few weeks earlier, in the back room of a small shop labeled _Torchwood: Paranormal Investigators_, the employees of Torchwood were gathered around the table waiting for Jack's news.

"Alright everyone, we've got a job!" he announced gleefully.

"Really? And where will this job be?" Mickey was hardly one to beat around the bush. He was always wary of where the new jobs would be, mostly because of expenses.

Jack smirked. "It's not too far from here, about 50 miles north in the town of-" he paused for a moment as he flipped through the file on the table, "Gallifrey! Weird name for a town, but anyway, the home we were asked to investigate is known as the Smith Estate. Really, who came up with these names? According to the information I've found, the Smith Estate had been owned by the Smith family for generations. It passed from father to son until ten years ago when the current owner vanished into thin air."

"What?!" Mickey exclaimed. "Nobody just vanishes, Jack. Maybe the guy skipped town or something."

Jack shrugged. "That's one of the rumors floating around this little village, too. There are so many different urban legends about this guy. Some even claim that he was actually not the son of the original owner, but that he was the original owner himself and that each different ancestor was a different incarnation of Mr. Smith. Apparently many were convinced that he was some kind of shape shifting alien stuck on Earth while trying to repair his ship. Trust me, Mickey, the stories about this guy get weirder and weirder the more you look into them, but there is some truth to the conspiracies."

"And what truth would that be, Mr. Harkness?" Rose sassed cheekily. She and Jack went way back, he used to babysit her when her mother was working. He was an old family friend to Rose, Jackie, and even Mickey.

"Well, Miss Tyler, before I was rather rudely interrupted, I was going to say that previous owner had been a very eccentric person. So it wasn't unusual for people to draw strange conclusions about his past or his family's history."

Rose quirked an eyebrow. "So, who was the guy?"

Jack grinned. "You're going to love this; his name was Dr. John Smith."

Everyone in the room groaned.

_John Smith_, Rose mused, _how original_.

Jack continued. "Apparently, Dr. Smith was a very excitable professor at the local university as well as a highly intelligent scientist. Records show that he had been working on some projects at his home. Rumor around the campus was that the projects had something to do with time travel."

Rose had to admit, that was different. He must have been a big fan of H. G. Wells.

"According to the locals stories, Dr. Smith had built a machine that he claimed was only a step away from successful time travel. On the night that he tested his machine, something went wrong and the project failed. Now most believed that Dr. Smith had been so devastated by his project's failure that he couldn't face the embarrassment it caused and left town in the middle of the night. Of course, there were other theories that would suggest that the project exploded and killed both the professor and his assistant Mr. Lee McAvoy."

"He had an assistant, too? So it wasn't just him who went missing." Mickey had an intrigued look on his face and Rose knew that Jack had gained the man's approval for the job.

Rose was not so easily convinced. "So what?" She gave Jack 'the look,' as he liked to call it. The one that said that she wasn't buying the pitch he was giving.

A smug grin covered Jack's face. "So what?" he repeated. "So everything, Rose Tyler. It was on this night that the haunting started. Or, that's how the villagers tell it."

"Villagers? You mean to say that the townspeople have also inquired about the estate?" Mrs. Moore chimed in from behind Rose. Mrs. Moore, as she was known around Torchwood and other investigator's circles, was actually Angela Price whose day job was at a technology firm. They didn't know much about her job other than she gets paid very well and is well respected in her work.

"Yes. It was not actually Mr. Mott's idea; the villagers begged both him and a distant relative to the Smith family, a Sarah Jane Smith, if they could at least have someone take a look at the house. There have been reports of increasing activity surrounding the property that has the entire town on edge." Jack handed out some reports and personal letters from the townsfolk that Mr. Mott had sent him.

"That is unusual." Rose read through some of the papers in front of her, reading each account that made some upsetting claims about the Smith Estate."

Jack's face grew hard as he pulled out another folder from under some of the inquiries. He flipped it open and stared at it for a moment. "There is also some concern that there had been some 'unholy rituals' that might have taken place on the property, too."

"They think that there are demons on the estate?" Now, Rose was not very religious and did not believe for a second that there could possibly be some 'demonic presence' at the house, but it might explain some of the villager's reactions. Rose considered herself a skeptic in that regard. "Jack, this better not be a wild goose chase."

"Rose, I know you really don't believe this stuff, but the villagers are terrified and our job is to pacify them first. They believe it's real and I want to calm their nerves about the situation, whether or not we actually find anything."

Rose understood what Jack was saying, as she firmly believed the same thing, but deep down she felt that the villager's had demonized the professor in some way and that did not sit well with her. It was similar to the way she was treated as a child because of her 'condition.' Just because she was different, she was treated cruelly.

"I know." she said, feeling like a chastised child. She leaned back in her chair and downed the rest of her tea. "Alright then, what other rumors are there about this Dr. Smith?"

Jack went on to say, "There are a fair few that have claimed that the project had not failed at all and in fact was successful, hence why Dr. Smith has never returned. Either way, the fact is that something happened in that house that is scaring the locals and our team is the most reliable in the area. There are a few things I need to show you before we all decide to take this job."

Jack pulled out another folder and passed out a few photos. The first photo was of the house, if one could call it that. It was massive and that was just being modest. It resembled a castle that belonged in a fairytale. An original Grimm Brother's fairytale, that is.

No wonder the locals were so terrified of this place, it was downright horrifying even in the daytime.

Mickey whistled when he saw the picture. "Damn, Jack. Are you sure we aren't secretly starring in a horror film. I've seen some scary places, but this takes the cake."

Jack snorted. "What's this, Rickey Boy? You scared?"

Mickey gestured rudely at the larger man and Rose intervened before it devolved into an insult match. "Enough, you two. We have work to finish."

He mumbled under his breath, "He started it." Rose gave him a dirty look and he instantly quieted after that.

Jack explained that the photo was taken about a year ago, just outside the estate. After that, he passed around a second picture taken a few weeks ago. The change was astonishing. The house looked even more dilapidated than before and much more ominous.

"Whoa, what happened?" Rose may not know much about structural decay when it came to homes like this, but she had never seen something like this before. The entire house looked like it had been abandoned for decades, not simply a year.

Rose had a feeling that Jack knew this would catch her attention as he described the photo in front of her. "The first nine years since the accident it looked just like that first picture I showed you, however, starting a year ago everything around the estate seemed to change. Many of the villagers described that it was only an ominous feeling whenever they passed the estate, but over the last year that feeling increased to the point that nobody would so much as walk or even drive by it. Others that were daring enough to go near the place described seeing lights flickering in the house and reported shadows moving in front of the windows. And then there are the 'specters' as many of villagers called them. Some were able to snap a few pictures of what they saw, before they took off running of course."

Jack pulled out a set of photos this time. The first one Rose received showed what looked like a large, black creature hovering behind a wall beside the large gardens. Although it was difficult to see, another had a humanoid figure standing just outside the doors of the house. This figure was tall and slim; it looked more like a shadow of a man. Jack caught Rose's eye and nodded towards the picture.

"Several say that's him; Dr. Smith. He was just about that tall." He pulled out one last photo and handed it to Rose.

She was taken aback by the picture. Unlike the other photos, this was hardly a terrifying image. A tall man with a slim, wiry frame and unruly hair stood next to an older man in a red hat. Standing next the older man was a ginger haired woman who looked just about ready to smack the tall man. Pointing at the younger man in the photo, Jack explained that this was Dr. John Smith.

"He looks a bit young to be a Doctor." Jake, their tech guy and Mrs. Moore's nephew, commented.

"Well, he was a bit of a genius according to Mr. Mott. A child prodigy that, after completing school early, went on to earn a few doctorates. And by the looks of things, he also has a nice set of-"

"Jack, is that really necessary?" Rose interrupted him, trying to fight a smile at her friend/boss's salacious habits.

Jack took the photo and placed it back in the folder, along with the other photographs.

"Well," Mickey drawled, "what does everyone think?" It was obvious that everyone was a bit wary of taking this assignment.

"Jack," Rose turned to her friend with a questioning look in her eye, "do you really think we should do this? I mean, look at the state of this house. It doesn't look like it's hospitable at all. Are you sure this is safe?"

Running a hand through his hair, Jack had a careful look in his eye. Rose could tell he wasn't totally sure this would be the best of ideas, but knew that the villagers needed their help so he didn't want to back out.

"I spoke with Mr. Mott, the older gentleman you saw in that last photo, and he assured me that it was only the outside of the house that looked that run down. The inside is just as furnished and taken care of as ever, as was in the Mr. Mott's contract. He said that he's taken very good care of the house, with the help of Ms. Smith and Donna Noble, his granddaughter. He cannot explain what happened to the outside of the house along with the rest of the estate, but he's taken care of the inside. He's assured me, it's safe."

Rose was still skeptical, but she'd take a look at the house first before deciding anything. She trusted Jack's judgment and this wouldn't be the first time they took on a possibly dangerous assignment. That's why Torchwood was as famous as it was; it took the jobs that many other paranormal investigators would turn down.

"Alright, fine. Count me in." Rose said, rather disgruntled by Jack's assuredness in her taking the job. Git.

After that, everyone unanimously agreed to take the job. It was an unusual request, but they were Torchwood; they were used to that. The only member that had not been present at the time was Ianto, Jack's partner, who had been away on a business trip for the past week. Jack had already discussed it with him over the phone and Ianto agreed, promising to be back in time for the job.

After all was said and done, they each decided to take time off of work to get as much investigation done at the estate as they could. Each member of the team managed to get five days free for the trip, weekend included.

Back to the present time, Rose secured the equipment for travel and hopped in the front seat of the van with Mickey. Jack was riding with Ianto in his vehicle and Mrs. Moore and Jake were riding together in her car.

"Ready?" Mickey asked her, excitement bright in his eyes.

Rose smiled back. "Ready."

And they pulled away from Torchwood headquarters on their way to the village of Gallifrey.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N**: Here is the second chapter of Beware the Shadows. This story is un-betaed, so if there are any mistakes or errors, please let me know. Otherwise, feedback is wonderful so please leave a comment or two. Enjoy! =D

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters.

* * *

The Torchwood team pulled up in front of a small house on the outskirts of the village of Gallifrey where the caretaker of the Smith Estate, Wilfred Mott, and his family lived. The older gentleman met them at the door with a kindly smile and Jack greeted him with a handshake. "Hello Mr. Mott, I am Jack Harkness and this is my team, Torchwood."

"Yes, thank you for coming. Come in, come in, it's a bit chilly out today. And call me Wilf, Mr. Mott is too formal for my tastes." He ushered them into his home and brought them to the dining room where there were several cups of tea waiting for them, along with the ginger haired woman they saw in the photograph. She had a pinched look on her face; it was a rather distasteful expression. She obviously wasn't too happy that they were there, or that's what it seemed like. None the less, they had a job to do and they would be professional about their interactions.

Although, to Rose, the woman looked more apprehensive than intimidating and she couldn't explain it, but the woman seemed very sad and lost. Rose felt that she was more bluff than confidence.

Strange.

The woman stood as soon as everyone entered the home, giving them a rather cold reception as she placed herself as far away as possible while still remaining in the room. Not very inviting, but that happens, as Rose has learned.

They all greeted Wilf individually and each grabbed a cup. Rose was surprised that the man knew to have the tea ready; Jack must have called him ahead of time.

"Lovely home, Wilf." Jack struck up small talk with the older gentleman, a tactic of his that normally cleared the air and gave a friendlier atmosphere.

"Thank you. Lived here for years. It's where my daughter Sylvia grew up and now where my granddaughter and I live. That's her over there, my Donna, though I figured you already knew that."

Rose watched the woman tense up a bit before giving a tight smile towards Jack that didn't quite reach her eyes. This woman got more and more fascinating. Now it was Rose's turn to clear up a bit of the uncomfortable tension in the room.

"Hello." Rose said politely to the woman, Donna.

Donna wasn't expecting Rose to greet her, judging by how badly she started. She swallowed visibly before greeting her back. "Yes, hello."

Rose wasn't sure what compelled her, but she that this woman needed her help and who was she to deny someone. "This would be my first time in Gallifrey, never heard of it before."

Donna looked at her strangely and Rose thought for a moment that she might have upset the woman, but then Donna did something rather unexpected. She laughed. "I reckon not many people have, it's so small that it doesn't show up on maps."

Rose giggled, realizing that Donna was just as nervous as she was. "Well, I grew up in London so I guess I'm used to the big city, but this is a nice change of pace."

Donna snorted. "Really? This town is hardly where I would go for time away. There's not much to do here besides stargazing, but that's not why you're here is it?"

Instead of making Rose feel uncomfortable, the question was aimed with a bit more humor to it. Rose smiled. "No. We hope that we can shed a bit of light about this 'haunting' that has the villagers nervous."

"Yeah, well, they were always a nosy bunch, but there is a mystery about that house. I guess we'll never really know what happened that night."

"The night of the accident."Rose inquired.

Donna flinched, but nodded. Obviously that was a sore subject for her.

"A lot happened after that. There was an investigation, which I'm sure you've heard about." Rose nodded, letting the woman know that their team was familiar with the incident and the aftermath it caused.

There was one subject that Rose was unclear about. "They said that there had been a prime suspect, or someone they believed might have been involved in Dr. Smith's disappearance."

Donna eyes turned cold, but they were not directed at Rose. "Harold Saxon." She spat the name out so harshly that Rose was surprised no one jumped. "He was John's cousin. The man was jealous that John inherited the estate and not him; Saxon believed that it was owed to him for whatever delusional reasons he had."

Leaning her head against the wall, Donna heaved an angry sigh. "He was there that day, despite the alibi he gave the police. Harold Saxon was at the estate that day; I saw him drive away when I was passing it."

Rose was confused now. "You mean Saxon might have had something to do with Dr. Smith's accident?"

Looking her in the eye, Donna nodded and said, "There is no doubt in my mind that Harold Saxon had been involved with the incident. John and him had a fierce rivalry; John was in it for the science but Saxon was in it for the money."

"In it?" Rose was completely lost now; what was this 'it' that she was referring to?

"The creation of John's machine." Donna said, as though it were the most obvious fact in the world.

"What did Saxon want with John's machine?"

"Who knows, but there was something that John didn't want him to get a hold of. John wasn't the only genius in the family; the whole lot of them were brilliant and Saxon was no different, however, Saxon was a stain on the family. The bastard didn't care who he had to screw over, so long as he got what he wanted." Donna also didn't care who heard her, as the entire room went silent to as everyone listened in for the rest of the story. Wilf looked slightly nervous, but did not stop his granddaughter.

"I'm tellin' ya, what happened at that estate has Saxon's interference written all over it."

Rose knew that getting people's opinions was typical protocol for most investigators, but for these people, in this town, it was obvious that it wasn't just about the haunting. Torchwood was often more concerned about the people involved in a haunting because it was affecting their lives and they made it their goal to make sure that the people they helped felt as safe as possible.

This was going to be difficult.

"We'll take that into account." Jack said as he sat down on the sofa as everyone finished their tea and moved the conversation into the living room. Wilf then got up and retrieved a folder labeled 'Smith' on the side and handed it to Jack.

"These files are a bit more sensitive and I didn't want them falling into someone else's hands, namely Saxon."

Jack flipped through the contents of the folder and Rose recognized the expression on his face as one he used when he memorized every detail, knowing that they were going to need it later. He handed the folder to her and she scanned the papers. In it were the transcripts of conversations between Wilf and Dr. Smith over the phone, which Rose found highly unusual. They were mostly innocuous, but there was one conversation that caught Rose's attention.

It was about John Smith's machine.

"So he really was trying to invent a time machine?" Rose asked Wilf with a certain amount of awe. It was true; the man really had built something like that.

Wilf hesitated before answering. "Of sorts, yes he did. It didn't work quite yet and it was very rudimentary, but he was working on it. John even went as far as to propose an idea for a new 'Temporal Physics' department at the university he worked at. Many called him crazy or insane, but some actually believed he could do it."

Rose smiled at the older man. "You believed he could do it, too." It wasn't a question and by the look on Wilf's face, Rose could tell he truly did.

"John was an amazing man. Generous, too. When I lost my job because of an injury, John asked if I would be the caretaker for the estate. As soon as I recovered, I started working at the house. It used to be so grand and beautiful, but now it's all gone downhill. We still don't know what happened but we're sure that something went wrong with his machine, which is strange."

Mrs. Moore, who had been silent for most of the conversation, looked puzzled at the last statement. "Strange? In what way?"

Wilf sat down heavily next to Jack. "Well," he said, biding his time, "John had no intention of using the machine on the estate. He was only building it there. The parts weren't even fully put together yet when the accident occurred. We haven't a clue what caused it."

"How did you know there was an accident?"

"Oh, the whole town heard it. There was a loud bang and a bright flash of light coming from the house like nothing had before, and since it sits on a hill overlooking the village, it was easy to see. Wasn't that late at night either, so many people were still out and about." Wilf looked a bit winded from talking, so Donna chimed in.

"After that, it seemed like the whole town gathered by the gates as the police went to investigate."

Rose passed the folder back to Jack and he handed it over to Wilf. Jack must have known there was more to the original investigation than Donna was letting on. "What happened with the investigation?"

Donna shifted uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with everyone in the room. Realization dawned on Jack's face. "It was botched, wasn't it? There was interference."

Donna ran her hands over her face in frustration. "Yes. And it was none other than Saxon. He probably paid off some of the some of the officers during the investigation so he wouldn't be implicated."

Rose was appalled. "But how?! Wouldn't somebody have caught on?"

Donna looked at Rose as though she had dribbled on herself. "Saxon is a businessman; a very powerful one at that. He has his hands in a lot of dangerous organizations. You may not have heard of him in London, but around here his name carries a lot of weight. He eventually got into politics, too."

This topic was so confusing and it was making Rose irritated. "So why hire us? We're paranormal investigators, what can we do to solve a case like this?"

Jack stood and looked at Rose for a brief moment before facing Wilf, his face withdrawn and tight. "You hired us because of me, didn't you? You knew I had connections to the government and if I discovered something that might put Saxon at the scene of the crime, it could launch a full-scale investigation. Unless he has friends in very high places, which I've no doubt that he does, Saxon would be on the chopping block. So that's why you need me. I know how to work around that."

The conversation had taken a very unusual turn and Rose couldn't tell what was up and what was down anymore. "Jack, correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought you were just a paper pusher for some government agency?"

"That's more Ianto's specialty; he deals with the legalities and I do the leg work." Jack said, sitting back down on the couch. "The point is, someone knows what I do for a living and I'm pretty sure I know who it is. Sarah Jane Smith."

Donna glared at Jack sardonically. "How ungrateful are you; if not for her, you never would have solved your case. She's the one who made all the connections."

Donna was not one to be trifled with, as the woman continued to emit an agitated aura towards most everyone in the room. This entire job was not at all what it appeared; what was it they were supposed to investigate, the haunting at the Smith Estate or the disappearance of Dr. John Smith and his assistant?

Jack sighed. "And I'm very grateful to her, believe me. We never would have caught the…culprit, without Sarah Jane's help. But I've already paid back my debt to her, so why does she want a favor now?"

"She really needs your help." Wilf interjected. "We all do. What's happening at that house is getting worse and she said that there was one person she knew who could possibly help us. You're the one individual she believes would not be influenced by Saxon."

"But wait…" Rose was still lost on a few facts, "if Saxon was so defensive about what happened at the Smith Estate, why hasn't he tried to prevent us from investigating?"

Wilf turned a nervous eye towards Jack, who spoke softly, "Because he wants to see if we can find what he's looking for. He probably already knows we're here, but there is something that he wants in that house and if he were to try and take it by himself, it would draw unwanted attention to him."

"So wait," Mickey interrupted, "we're doing his bloody dirty work? Look, I get that you want to figure out what happened that night, I really do, but I don't want to get dragged into anything illegal. Whatever this Saxon guy is looking for has to be something either dangerous or career threatening if he's getting other people to do it for him."

"Exactly." Jack said carefully. "He needs someone else to take the fall in case something goes wrong, but he made a mistake. He let his ego get in the way."

Jake spoke up. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Jack drawled, "if Saxon had taken enough time to investigate into our lives, he would have put a halt to this immediately. Ianto, Mrs. Moore, and myself are more of a threat to him than he thinks and he's allowed for us to get this far. He didn't do his homework and it's going to cost him."

Clapping his hands together suddenly, Jack startled everyone in the room and announced that they would meet with Wilf, Donna, and Sarah Jane tomorrow afternoon at the Smith Estate. Before which, he would like to do some research on the family's history in the house. Rose was still suspicious of Jack's reasons for taking this job.

Something was off and she was going to find out what.

As they left Wilf's home, Rose pulled Jack aside and asked him outright, "What the hell are we doing here, Jack? Why are we taking this assignment?"

Jack's face didn't belie the emotions underneath, as Rose was certain he'd been trained to do. "Rose, there is something about that house. I can feel it and I'm pretty sure you can too, am I right?"

Rose swallowed, feeling small tendrils of fear at the 'things' she was picking up from the estate. "Jack, I'm not sure about this. Saxon sounds like a dangerous person and I don't want you or anyone else in this team to get caught in the crossfire."

"I know, Rose, but don't worry too much. I'll get Ianto to lay some traps for Mr. Saxon in case he comes a knocking. I'm going to make sure we get through this assignment safe and sound, but I need you to trust me." Jack replied, bopping Rose on the nose with his finger like he's always done whenever she got scared. Which she was.

"Fine, but promise me you'll be careful."

"I will."

Jack gave her a quick hug before darting back to his vehicle, leaving Rose to stand there for a moment. He still wasn't telling her something, she could feel it.

The Torchwood team managed to arrange for some rooms at Rassilon's Bed & Breakfast in town. Jack and Ianto were in a room the floor below Mickey and Jake's room, and Mrs. Moore and Rose took the last available room which was on the top most floor with a view of the town. Rose always preferred the side closest to the window, which Mrs. Moore had no problem with.

Rose chose to stay up later that night, wanting to review some of the folders and pictures that Wilf gave them before they left his home. She always wanted to be as prepared as possible for each job and there was no doubt in her mind that Jack was doing the same thing on the other of the house.

Each folder contained different accounts throughout the years since the accident and, judging by each new perspective she came across, there seemed to be some recurring themes in each story. The first theme she noticed was that the lights always flickered on at the same time every night. Another was the shadow figures that would appear at different times each day, but usually only by the front door or in the master bedroom's window. The last theme she discovered was the creature, or at least that's how they described it. It was never in the same place and it never appeared in the house. People only saw it prowling the grounds.

That was a bit disconcerting for Rose. It meant that whatever these people were seeing could possibly be either a wild animal or something that might not be tied to the haunting in the house. Not that she believed it could be a demon of some kind, but then again, it might be something they have never encountered before.

There was only one incident where Rose came across a physical manifestation and it was in the basement of an old funeral home in Cardiff. Whatever was down there scratched her on the back two separate times, each on a different night of the investigation. She wouldn't rule out the possibility of a negative entity on the estate, so they would have to be careful.

She made a list of different places where they could set up cameras around the grounds so that they might catch the entity on video. She would take her EMF meter with her to the estate tomorrow while Wilf showed the around. Jack and Mrs. Moore had laid out general plans for where they could place the infrared motions sensors and Rose would have to talk to Jack about placing a few of them in the master bedroom and down by the front door. That's where the humanoid figure often frequented.

Most of the pictures were taken by other investigators, mostly amateurs, and any locals daring enough to get close to the estate. Wilf had not been kidding when he said that some of the stuff in the folders were rather sensitive, but it wasn't the age of the documents. The contents discussed some of Dr. John Smith's work, particularly his machine. While Rose flipped through the notes that she was pretty sure the police had never seen, a piece of paper fell out onto the floor.

The side facing her had several strange, circular markings. It looked like a language of some kind, but Rose had never seen anything like it. She picked up the document and flipped it over, gasping in surprise at what she saw.

It was the machine!

Or, that's what it looked as though it could be. The top drawing was in the shape of a large hexagonal desk; each side possessed several buttons, switches, and other parts that she didn't recognize. The bottom drawing was a strange doodle, if that's what she could call it. It looked like a piece of coral. Unfortunately, Rose could not decipher the words written next to it. It was obvious this Dr. Smith had terrible handwriting.

This must have been one of the things that Saxon was after; something told her that he could probably decipher the strange symbols on the back as well as the atrocious cursive on the front. She was going to have to hide this somewhere and, as much as she trusted the locals to mind their own business, yeah right, she wasn't taking any chances. She would have to keep it with her as it might come in handy later.

Setting aside the drawing, she scanned some more of the photographs when something caught her attention. In some of the photos, the creature appeared darker or denser. Looking at the dates on the backs, Rose arranged the photographs from the earliest to latest and made a rather horrifying discovery. The creature's form was becoming more and more distinct; as though it were slowly solidifying.

She checked the same thing with the humanoid figures, but found no change. That was frightening; it meant that this could be an intelligent haunting of some form. A potentially dangerous one as well.

From out of the corner of her eye, Rose saw something flicker. She turned towards the window, which gave an excellent view of Smith Estate. For a moment, she thought she saw the lights flip on. She stared for a few moments, not daring to blink, but nothing happened. She chalked it up to her imagination. And turned away to grab the folders off the floor where she'd left them before taking one last look at the house they would be investigating tomorrow.

The lights in the master bedroom were on.

Rose jumped. She stared for a while before her eyes started to water and she couldn't resist blinking again.

They were off again.

The hairs on her arms stood on end. There was something wrong with that house.

Trying to calm her heart from the scare, Rose couldn't shake the feeling of dread that the house gave her.

This was going to be an investigation she would never forget.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N**: I meant to update this earlier, but inclement weather and tornadoes and such. Anyway, here is chapter 3. We find out a bit more about the estate and the Smith family. This story is un-betaed, if you see any mistakes or errors, please let me know. Feedback is wonderful, so please leave a comment or two. Enjoy! =D

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters.

* * *

The next morning, Rose woke earlier than she expected, possibly because of the odd dream she'd had. It felt so real, as though she were actually experiencing it. She remembered the sound of someone shouting and a distant wolf's howl, but not much else.

It was rather unnerving and put her edge.

She showered and dressed before heading down to breakfast. Passing the front desk, an older woman that was talking with the owner gave her a sour look. Rose knew that expression well; it was often accompanied with a snide remark or dig about 'ghosts' and 'weird people' like her team. The owner gave Rose a sympathetic look, silently apologizing for the rude woman. Rose smiled tightly at the owner and acknowledged her with a nod.

Walking into to the dining room, Rose found Jack and Mickey already discussing their plans for the day over eggs and toast.

"Morning." Rose greeted. Jack shot her a warm smile and Mickey attempted to say hello with his mouth full, without much success.

"You're up early; expected you to sleep in. You won't fall asleep on the job, will you?" Jack jibbed. He stood up and pulled a seat out for her after she filled her plate to the brim with eggs, fruits, and beans on toast.

"Somebody's hungry." After downing his drink, Mickey handed the newspaper he and Jack had been looking at before she walked in. "Look here, it's from a few days after the incident at the Smith Estate."

Rose looked at the newspaper; there was a man with sandy blonde hair on the front page.

The name _Harold Saxon_ was printed underneath the photo.

"Ah." Rose drawled as she analyzed the man's cold expression. He may have had a smile on his face, but it did not reach his eyes. "Our prime suspect. He looks friendly." Rose didn't like this man at all; he looked to be everything Donna had said he was. Rose let her fingers trace his image for a moment.

"Anything?" Jack asked.

Rose closed her eyes and let her mind drift a bit before she caught something. It was faint, but the feeling was there all the same.

"There's anger and fear. Greed, so much of it, but, no, he couldn't find it." Rose drew out a long breath, trying to unscramble her thoughts. "There's not much else to go on, how long did he use this newspaper?"

"He only read it for a few minutes before leaving. Owner said he was here for a few more days after the incident at the Smith Estate, probably trying to find a way into the house without being noticed. The owner kept it in a box in the back room and pretty much forgot it was there until I asked." Jack said, before taking another hearty bite from his food.

Mickey took the newspaper from Rose and looked at the photo. "This guy gives me the creeps and I'm a ghost hunter."He shivered.

Jack was of the same sentiment as he discussed the outline for the day. "Yeah, but let's make sure we avoid him as much as possible if he shows up at any point, 'kay? Now, this afternoon we're meeting Wilf at the estate so we can set up points where we want to investigate. Rose, you will have to work your 'magic' to see if you can pick anything up in the house. I want to see if it really is Dr. Smith in that house, or something else."

Rose nodded as she chewed her food. Thinking over that dream last night, something about it seemed so familiar, but she didn't know why. Well, didn't matter, she'd have time at a later date to analyze it; right now she had a job to do.

Mrs. Moore, Jake, and Ianto trudged their way downstairs for breakfast and tea not long after Rose finished hers. They sat around the table talking through the finer points of the day. Rose would go with Ianto to the library and city hall to do some research in the remaining archives about the Smith Estate. Both Rose and Ianto were both very good with research so they hoped that they might find something that Saxon might have missed. The rest of the group would set up and fix some of the equipment before splitting up to talk with some of the locals. The team headed out to their tasks and Rose made sure to bring Dr. Smith's drawing with her, just in case.

Ianto had called the library a few weeks ago to see if the curator, Harriet Jones, had any archival material left from the investigation. Unfortunately, the police took much of the original documents which, if his assumption was correct, Saxon got a hold of and probably already burned.

They were delightfully surprised to discover that Ms. Jones had taken the liberty of backing up those documents with copies years before the accident. Apparently, she had almost lost the entire collection once before when the area suffered a massive flood. Luckily for them, the police were not interested in whether or not she made any copies since they were only after the originals. Rose and Ianto then spent the better part of the morning pouring over those archival materials about the Smith family and their home.

There were several pieces of paper with Rose's scrawl spread out on the table when Ianto returned from a small café down the street with coffee and tea. Rose thanked him as he surveyed her notes, looking for any connections or patterns in the data. So far they had discovered that the family moved into the area in 1859 and were surprisingly well known for their lavish parties at the estate. No one knew where they came from and the family was not forthcoming with information about their history. There were no reports of any hauntings prior to that time or up until ten years ago.

It was frustrating that the information they found was scant and riddled with holes; no doubt the missing information was probably destroyed in the flood. Taking their notes with them, the pair thanked Ms. Jones for her help and walked to city hall not far from the library.

This is where they hit their first roadblock; they were denied access to the records there about the house. This infuriated Ianto, as he had done the same as with the library and called ahead of time to make sure the records were available. The archivist claimed that he never received any such phone call and if Ianto wished to continue harassing him, he might be forced to call police.

They knew something was up.

Ianto ducked out for a moment to make a call and not five minutes later the archivist was called back to his office by one of his assistants. A few moments later the archivist returned, looking much paler than before. Rose would never understand how Ianto managed it, but they gained access to the records. The archivist avoided Ianto and her after that and would only let his assistants help them.

"Ooo, get this." Rose handed Ianto an old newspaper clipping. On the front of the clipping there was a very haggard looking woman with wild eyes. Eyes that were eerily familiar. "Ushas Saxon of Cardiff, daughter of James Smith of the Smith family of Gallifrey, was arrested Friday for suspected illegal experimentation on both animals and humans. The methods by which she used were not made available to the public, but it is believed that mind-altering drugs and possible body modification may have been utilized. Other information about the testing includes her research on the 'Bad Wolf Phenomena' and gene splicing."

Ianto looked over the newspaper clipping as Rose read through a document that was folded underneath a folder at the bottom of the box. "It says here that she was arrested not long after her son, Harold Saxon, went off to school for the year." Ianto clarified; as Rose dug around through more materials in one of the other boxes they were given.

"Ah, seems that famous eccentricity backfired in her case." Rose whistled as she read the rest of the accusations against Ushas. "Wow, seems her husband was also a bad egg. He was convicted on several counts of murder, which the police believed she might have had a connection to. This was one hell of a family."

The more they searched, the darker the history of the Smith family became. They found that several family members wound up in mental institutions, some on baseless accusations of insanity. Aside from that, many members held prestigious positions at universities and in office. One member in particular, Romana Smith, worked directly under the Prime Minister at one point, although it did not state the nature of her work. The only thing about her job that Rose could find was something called the 'Blaidd Drwg Project.' Odd name; sounded like Welsh.

Most of what they discovered did not pertain to the last ten years so they were not much closer to solving the mystery of John Smith's disappearance than they were before.

They packed up their notes and left city hall, but not before Ianto gave the head archivist a sharp look. As they walked back to the car, Rose pondered over something they had come across. "Hey Ianto, have you ever heard of the 'Bad Wolf Phenomena' before?" she questioned, as they climbed into the car.

Ianto was quiet for a moment, staring straight ahead. "Rose, that's…" He pressed his lips together, bidding his time. "It's very complicated and hypothetical. It's just a theory."

"So," Rose said irritably, "I'm not stupid, thank you very much. I could probably keep up."

Ianto pressed the heels of his palms against his closed eyes before answering. "It's a complex idea that has been around for some time now. The theory states that when a human is placed into an induced state, similar to a coma, the mind travels outside the body to another plane of existence. The most basic explanation is that it's a type of out of body experience."

"So why don't they just call it that?"

Ianto started the car and pulled out of the parking lot to meet up with the rest of the team at the bed and breakfast. By the look on his face, that wasn't all there was to it. "There's more. Even though the body stays in this plane, the theory states that the mind can create a second body that exists so long as you are in the other plane. It makes that plane seem as real to you as this one."

Rose followed along as he spoke and oddly enough, it made sense. "So the question is, how was Ushas Saxon trying to accomplish that? Maybe if we found out more about Ushas, then we can figure out how she was trying to do it." She pulled out her smart phone and started researching the name 'Ushas Saxon,' but the only hits she got that weren't about her connection to her husband's murder spree or gene splicing was her obituary.

Her research for the 'Bad Wolf Phenomena' was nowhere to be found.

She clicked on a website and discovered that Ushas Saxon died not long after being convicted for illegal human experimentation and as an accessory to murder. It did not state how she died, only the date of her funeral. "Ah, well that didn't help us. She died years ago."

Ianto shrugged. "There is no humane way to test the theory because the subject needs to be in such a catatonic state that when it was first tested, several of the subjects never came out of it. At least that's what I've been told."

Rose nodded and accepted his explanation, but at the same time there was still something about the topic that niggled at the back of her mind. "So there has been some testing done on it before?"

"Yes, but the research has been classified and it is impossible to gain access to it unless you have clearance. Basically, we won't know what really happened during those initial tests." Pulling into the parking lot beside Mickey's van, they found Jack waiting for them on the front porch.

"Tell me you've got something on this haunting." Judging by the look on his face Rose could tell that Jack was agitated; he held the door open for the both of them.

Rose rubbed the back of her neck and said, "Not as such, but we have found out a bit more about the Smith family. It's no wonder the entire town is scared of them."

Jack led them up to his own room, where everyone else had gathered. There were papers and diagrams covering the floor and bed. Mickey sat in the desk chair, wearing a pair of headphones as he listened to a sound recording on his laptop. Jake and Mrs. Moore were flipping through sheet after sheet on the floor, murmuring back in forth, comparing notes.

Rose took a seat on the bed as Jack poked Mickey in the shoulder to get his attention. As everyone in the room turned their focus on Jack, he picked up a few documents off the desk beside Mickey. "All right gang, we have some new information on the Smith family and some personal accounts of some individuals who experienced the haunting. Who wants to go first?"

Rose stood up from the bed and pulled out a few of the notes she and Ianto had made. "We will. The discoveries we made were mostly about Harold Saxon, particularly his mother Ushas Saxon. We discovered that she was experimenting illegally on humans and had been sent to prison when Saxon was still a teenager. There was also some speculation I found that Ushas might have experimented on her husband as well, who went to prison for multiple murders."

There were several shocked faces around the room, the team was surprised that an incident that extreme was kept such a secret in this little town. Mrs. Moore was the first to speak. "It makes you wonder how he managed to get into politics with that kind of background. There must have been several underhanded deals to get him where he is today."

"No doubt." Jack spoke solemnly. "Anything about the haunting?"

Rose shook her head. "There were no records of the last ten years in either of the archives. Probably got nicked during the police investigation. What did you find out from the people here?"

Jack grunted and slid down onto the floor, rubbing his hands over his face. "Nothing. Zilch. It was the same stuff they sent us in the folders. People were either too scared to go near the estate or saw something and took off running. Those who managed to get pictures sent us their best ones; all the others they took were too out of focus."

The room fell silent. They've had troublesome cases before, some where there was almost nothing about the place they were investigating, but this was different. This investigation was no longer just about finding out if there was an actual haunting; they wanted to know what happened to Dr. John Smith and his assistant Lee McAvoy.

Realizing that there was nothing more to discuss, the team started packing up and getting ready for the first night of investigation. As everyone else headed out the door, Mickey called out to Jack and Rose before they could leave. Leaning back in his chair, Mickey pulled up an audio file on his computer.

"Jack, you know that kid who used his video phone to take some recordings out by the front gate of the estate?"

Jack nodded.

"Well, I think he might have gotten something. I haven't listened to it all the way through, but I thought you want to hear this." Mickey pulled the headphones out of the jack and turned the volume up as loud as he could. He pressed play on the file.

At first there was nothing, just the sound of the kid breathing heavily but then-wait, was that? Rose looked at Mickey and then at Jack, both had shocked expressions on their faces. "What was THAT?"

The sound on the recording was a low, guttural growl. Rose had never heard anything like it before. Mickey played it a second time, this time focusing on those brief seconds the sound occurred. "I ran it through Mrs. Moore's sound program, but it can't identify the species. Do you recognize it at all?" He directed this question to Jack, but the man just frowned and shook his head.

Obviously it wasn't a living animal, at least not one that's ever been recorded. Whatever it was, they would have to be on alert tonight and make sure everyone had their state of the art communicators, courtesy of Mrs. Moore, on them at all times.

Mickey shrugged and told Rose and Jack that they could always come back to it later, if they found anything on their recorders tonight. He packed up his things, pulled his phone out, and awkwardly walked out of the room, leaving Rose and Jack alone. Mickey was too busy looking at his phone and Rose watched as he almost collided with another guest just outside the door and she let a little giggle slip. He was probably updating Martha about the new things he'd discovered concerning the case.

Mickey was a loon in love and she always wondered how he even managed to take so much time away from his wife; they were often glued to one another's side back home.

Turning around, Rose faced the other man in her life other than her best mate. The man who was so much a part of her life he was pretty much family. Jack was practically her brother, the way he took care of her and her mum.

Walking up to her, Jack engulfed Rose in a hug, resting his chin on her head as she wrapped her arms around him.

"You be careful tonight, 'kay?" Rose murmured against his pressed shirt.

"I will. And you too." He pulled away, but not before pressing a kiss to her forehead. Rose nodded in response.

Jack ushered her out the door as he went about his room collecting the rest of his equipment for the night. Rose went back to her room and put away all the papers strewn about the room from the night before in their proper places. She looked out the window again at the estate.

There was something there, she couldn't name it, but it was there. That feeling again.

It was a sense of foreboding. Darkness hovered over that house.

Shaking free of the cold tingles running up her spine, Rose finished gathering everything for her part tonight, taking extra precautions with the equipment she might need. Grabbing her jacket, she locked the door on the way out, placing a do not disturb sign on the door. It probably wouldn't matter, but it never hurts to be careful.

She headed out to the van where Mickey was waiting impatiently. For some reason, he was really excited about tonight, but she simply couldn't share in his enthusiasm. Rose smiled at this and, despite her reluctance, clambered into the passenger's seat. Jack took the lead as usual and they headed out to the estate where Wilf was waiting for them.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N**: Here is chapter 4! Same thing as always, this story is un-betaed so if there are any errors let me know. I really love feedback, so please let me know what you think. I apologize if I haven't responded to your reviews yet, I am hoping to get to them within the next day or so.

_Hint_: We meet someone in this chapter.;) Enjoy!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters.

* * *

When they arrived at the front gates, Wilf and Donna were talking with a brown haired woman who looked to be in her late forties. As they pulled in behind Wilf's small car, Jack waved at the trio. Wilf and the brown haired woman, who Rose guessed to be Sarah Jane, walked over to Jack's vehicle and they talked briefly.

They then followed Wilf's car up the decently long driveway towards the house. As Mickey parked the car in front of the large home, the two friends inside gasped at the sheer size of it.

"Can you imagine living in some place like this? Beats coming from the council estate." Mickey said. They both stared in awe of the large home, despite its ominous visage.

Trees were stripped bare of their leaves and almost no living vegetation touched the home. It was like a ring of death surrounded the entire house, or as much of it as Rose could see. The house itself was made of a worn and well weathered stone, gray in color; it must have been magnificent in its prime. Now, it was cold and uninviting. The grounds were overgrown with dead or dying plants; the cause of which, as Wilf stated, was unknown. Rose hopped out of the van and pulled the side door open. After grabbing some of her devices and her satchel with the piece of paper in it, Rose walked over to the small group gathered by Wilf's car.

The brown haired woman was shaking hands with the team when Rose arrived. She held out her hand to Rose, smiling warmly. "Sarah Jane Smith. Nice to meet you." Her attitude was infectious and Rose grinned back. "Rose Tyler. It's great to meet you too."

Wilf gestured for them to gather round so he could explain a bit more about the house; Sarah Jane and Donna interjecting every once in a while. The grounds were large and sprawling, not something Rose wanted to walk during the night. It could be dangerous at times so best to stick around the house as much as possible. The house itself contained several rooms and was very strange in design; it was eerily similar to the Winchester house in California. One can get lost if they are not careful so they needed to pay attention to where they're going. The back gardens had a maze in it, but don't go in there because it was overgrown and there were several broken pieces of statues and pottery.

They all followed Wilf into the house and saw what he meant by unusual. The foyer was grand and whimsical; a mixture of different types of architecture. Oddly enough, there were three staircases. Two bordered the walls leading to the landing on the second floor, but the third spiraled from the center of the room straight up to the third floor through the ceiling.

It was fantastic!

Rose loved these kinds of homes; so much history, so much beauty. She could not imagine what it must have been like to grow up in a house such as this. They toured the first floor which included a parlor, a massive kitchen and several sitting rooms. The second floor consisted of many bedrooms with lavish bathrooms and studies as well as a library.

The moment Rose walked into the library her mouth dropped and she heard a snigger from Mickey. Elbowing him in the side, she noticed that the ceiling was higher than she anticipated; the room was so large it covered two stories.

Wilf was leading them out through another door on the other side of the room when something shifted just off to the side of Rose's peripherals. She whipped her head around and, for just a moment, she thought she saw a shadow move. It was beside a large window seat, but the longer she stared the more that she realized it could have been just her imagination, but that didn't stop a small chill from curling up her spine.

And then she saw it again, but this time it was right next to Wilf, as though walking with him. Wilf was completely unaware of the shadow, but Jack caught her eye and knew.

This was going to be an interesting night.

Touring through the house, Rose was thoroughly amazed by the openness of the home. She expected it to be cold and creepy, but not this house. It was the polar opposite of what it looked like on the outside, more beautiful too.

Wilf took them to the back of the house next, which surprised her. She was expecting to see the third floor, but Wilf merely brought them out onto a veranda that overlooked the back of the property. Had it not been for the unsettling atmosphere practically oozing from the grounds, Rose would have found the back gardens absolutely breathtaking. There was a hedge maze in back that became overgrown, but it was in the most beautiful shape.

A spiral galaxy, Wilf told them. Apparently John had it made a long while back; he just loved the stars.

As it was, though, there was much that made the entire scene frankly terrifying. Statues that should have been pleasant and pretty in the maze were distorted and twisted and Rose could not figure out why. Maybe it was the angle that the dying light of day hit them or maybe it was the way they were designed, but something about those statues gave Rose the creeps. Their normally beautiful faces were warped.

They were angel statues.

They looked as though they were…smiling. The angle was all wrong, though. Whatever the reason for these statues, Rose was certain that they didn't normally look like this. Turning away from the scene, the group headed back inside and into the main hall.

Rose realized that they had yet to see the third floor and the master bedroom. Wilf stopped in front of the spiral staircase, which Rose hadn't realized must have been one of the only entrance ways to the third floor.

"The original designers of this house had originally made it only two stories, but John added a bit onto it. The master bedroom is actually the entire top floor, with different parts of it segmented off into sections. He was quite the hobbyist and had a tendency to fall asleep on his workbench in the middle of the night. This was why he built a new master bedroom for himself, among other reasons." With that, Wilf led up the staircase to the top floor of the house.

They entered into a small sitting room, much like the ones downstairs. Wilf explained that Dr. Smith preferred to keep his privacy and had many other rooms built up here so that people wouldn't go snooping through his things. Not that it mattered now since all those objects and projects had been taken in by both Wilf and Sarah Jane for safekeeping. They couldn't bear the thought of vandals destroying Dr. Smith's work.

As Wilf led them through the different compartments of the master suite, Rose picked an array of vibes about this part of the house. It was newer, that much she knew, but there was much emotion radiating out of the walls and it made her head spin a bit. There was a bit of sadness, a touch of anger and frustration, but much joy.

This Dr. Smith was a happy man and, judging by the way Wilf, Sarah Jane, and Donna spoke of him, it was no doubt that he was well loved too, but all the other feelings she picked up in the room could not disguise a distinct sense of loneliness.

Rose did not find that very strange considering that it seemed he had lived in this house alone.

As they finally entered what had been Dr. Smith's bedroom, Rose gasped at the sight of a beautiful skylight over a four-poster bed. The idea of seeing the stars every night before falling asleep completely enthralled Rose.

Oh, she liked Dr. Smith.

Mickey whistled at the sight of the skylight too. "He spared no expense in here, did he?"

Wilf chuckled. "John had a degree in astronomy too. He didn't like to be far away from his stars if he could help it."

They walked around the room, looking around with scrutinizing eyes. There was a large bare bookcase against the wall that, had it been filled, would have had Rose drooling just like in the library. Wow, Dr. Smith must never have gotten tired of reading. She ran her fingers along the empty shelves and picked up a sense of curiosity and inquisitiveness.

Oh yes, he enjoyed reading.

She touched several objects around the room, gaining a stronger sense of the type of man Dr. Smith was when she arrived at his bed. Pressing a hand into the mattress Rose received something that surprised her.

There was barely any feeling coming from the bed.

"He didn't sleep in his room that much, did he? Was it more often that he dozed off in his workshop?" Rose asked, knowing that she was correct.

"Yep! Classic workaholic, you could say. Never thought he was ever finished, always had something he was working on."

Rose wanted to be in this room tonight. She had a feeling that there would be some activity here. Something was going to happen, she could just feel it.

They left the third floor down the way they came and followed Wilf the back through a set of double doors in back, leading out onto a different part of the large veranda. Rose could see the entrance to the maze from here, which was a gothic archway with a worn metal door. The sheer splendor of the home was reflected in the design of the back gardens and maze.

Rose walked along the veranda, absorbing the years of history of the home. So many emotions and memories seeped out of the masonry; a complex family with a tumultuous history. She was walking around the side of the house when she noticed something.

There were three jagged marks in the stonework; they looked like claw marks. Rose was afraid of them; something wasn't right about the creature that people saw on the estate.

She traced the gouges and an immense sense of rage and hatred poured into her. Rose felt a sharp sting, like a burn, surge through the fingers touching the wall.

Definitively something wrong. Whatever roamed these grounds was malicious and bloodthirsty.

"Rose!" Jack called to her, rounding the corner. "We're about ready to start setting up our equipment. You want to help Mrs. Moore grab the bags in the back of Mickey's van?"

Rose turned to him. "Sure. Jack, take a look at this."

The man walked up beside her and analyzed the marks. "Whoa, now that…that is something…"

"I'm pretty sure that it has something to do with the creature people have been seeing. This thing is tangible, Jack. It was able to carve into stone. This is nothing like we've ever seen before. I don't know if it's safe to be out here, especially at night."

Jack sighed. "You may be right, but this also might be the best job for Ianto and I. You, Jake, and Mickey will be working the master suite tonight. Mrs. Moore will run home base as usual and Ianto and I will keep tabs on the backyard by the maze. Some of the locals from earlier today mentioned that the statues sometimes move. At least that's what they say. There is also a basement that Wilf hasn't shown us yet where John keeps his workshop. It's a mess, so we won't take a look at it until tomorrow."

"Okay," Rose said, turning away from the ominous marks, "anything else I need to know before we head up to the master suite?"

Jack's fingers followed the same path hers did earlier, a tense expression on his face. "Yeah, be careful." You need to stay on alert tonight. We still don't know what we're up against and I need you to be the leader in there. You're the lead investigator when I'm not around so trust your instincts."

Rose smiled and hugged him around the waist, burrowing into his shirt a bit. "You too, immortal man." They both giggled a bit at the nickname he'd earned after a very close call during one of their previous investigations.

"Oh I will, Rosie. And remember to keep your communicator on at all times, okay?"

"Yes sir." She gave Jack a mock salute and a tongue touched smile and he bopped her on the nose.

After their ritual parting, which they always did before beginning any investigation, they found the rest of the group and discussed the matters of the night's investigation.

Mrs. Moore set up home base in the main foyer downstairs, where she would be able to maintain a critical eye on each of their activities. There were cameras set up everywhere they were investigating and in many places they wouldn't be, at least not that night. For the first part of the investigation, Jack and Ianto would be outside most of the night covering the grounds. Rose protested this, but Jack promised that if anything came up, she would be the first to know. Rose wanted to investigate the library at some point that night, but Jack wanted her to stick with the main bedroom.

Mickey and Jake would take the other rooms in the master suite tonight, while Rose was in Dr. Smith's room. They set up their equipment for taking measures of EMPs and motion cameras, just in case there was any movement in the rooms not of their own making.

Rose dropped her things on a wooden chair leaning against a desk. The old oak desk was lovingly worn from use and she could tell that it must have been passed down through the generations. The four poster bed looked to be made of mahogany and had intricate carvings in the wood of each post.

A closer inspection revealed the same intricate symbols as the writing on the drawing. It was ancient and beautiful. There were other designs as well; names of individuals and places, some of which she recognized including John's surrogate family, the Nobles. Rose closed her eyes and smiled; he loved them dearly, that much was obvious.

For such a lonely man, he had a wonderful family; one that he made himself.

Rose sank into the dusty mattress that Wilf was kind enough to provide sheets for. It was comfy, but cold. It was also large and he must have felt all alone whenever he slept; no wonder he didn't sleep in here that often.

They were about to start. She took a deep breath and prepared to immerse herself in the strange happenings of the Smith Estate.

"Everyone ready?" Came the crackly voice of Mrs. Moore. Each person chimed in. "Yep, I'm ready." Rose responded. She was more than ready to solve this mystery.

The master suite of the house was large enough that Mickey and Jake's investigation would not interrupt Rose's concentration. Closing her eyes, Rose focused on the atmosphere, letting her mind drift slowly away from her body.

Deeper and deeper, out of herself.

Every thought melting away.

Down and down she went…

The next time Rose opened her eyes, she found herself staring out the skylight above the bed, except there was no sky.

It was just a vast colorless emptiness.

Movement out of the corner of her eye drew her attention towards the desk where she remembered setting her stuff earlier.

There was a shock of messy brown hair hanging over the top of the chair and two arms dangled off the arm rests on each side. She couldn't see who it was as the chair was facing away from her, but by the sound of the slight snore emanating from them she could only assume they were asleep.

Quietly getting off the bed, Rose picked up a small stand nearby just in case the person might be dangerous. Slowly inching towards the figure in the chair, she noticed that the room looked slightly different than she remembered. There were more things strewn about and the walls were brighter. In fact, everything looked just a bit warmer.

Rose startled when she heard another sound from the person in the chair. It was only a small grunt, but it was enough to raise the alarm bells in Rose's head.

How did they get here?

When did they get here?

Why hadn't she heard them walk in?

And why were they asleep in the desk chair?

She drew in closer just as the person seemed to wake up. A deep yawn and a few cracks of joints indicated that they were male and most likely older than a teenager, by her best guess.

Just as the man stood up, Rose raised the stand preparing to swing if he attacked her and then he turned around.

Rose dropped the stand.

No, that wasn't possible.

The man blinked at her; utter surprise written all over his face.

"What?" The man squeaked. "What? Who…what?"

Rose was certain that her face reflected the same shock as the sputtering man. "You…you're…him."

The man was completely speechless, mouth moving but nothing coming out.

"You're him!" Rose practically shrieked. "You're Dr. Smith! You're Dr. John Smith of the Smith family. You…you…you're alive!"

This seemed to catch the man's attention as his mouth snapped shut and he swallowed roughly. "I am, but who are you? How are you here? It's completely impossible for you to be here unless…"

"Unless what?" Rose was incredibly curious as to how this man could even exist.

"Unless I've finally gone off the deep end. That's got to be it; I've completely lost my mind. Yup, must be mad as a hatter now. Bugger. No one else should be able to get here so that's the only logical explanation, because you just cannot be real."

Rose listened to the man prattle on and realized how much he must enjoy rambling. Well, that just wasn't going to solve anything. "Look, I don't know where I am, to be exact. Or maybe I do, but I really don't, oh this is confusing."

Dr. Smith stopped talking the moment she interrupted him, listening intently. "Oh," he said carefully, "you're at the Smith Estate."

"Well yeah I was, but not so much anymore, I think..." Looking around her, Rose realized that she was, in fact, in the Smith house. It was strange, everything seemed different and yet the same.

Rose noticed something odd about the mirrors in the room. Lifting her hand, she brushed the surface of her reflection and the mirror rippled. She jumped back, startled, right into Dr. Smith, who she hadn't noticed standing behind her.

"Oh! I'm sorry." She blushed as his hands shot out to steady her. They were large and calloused, yet still soft and gentle. Oh, that wasn't so bad.

Snap out of it, Rose!

"How are you alive?" she questioned.

"I don't know, I mean, maybe I'm dead, I really can't tell. Everything about this realm is unusual."

"Dead? Realm? What?" There was so much that she didn't understand about this man and now she discovers that she's supposed to be in another realm. This was bonkers. Completely mad; maybe he wasn't the only who'd lost their mind.

"Well, far as I can tell, there is no time here. It feels like forever and yet just yesterday I was having tea with Wilf." His face grew sad at the mention of the old man and Rose saw the loneliness in his eyes; it was the same she picked up in his bedroom earlier.

"Wilf…Wilf! Oh my god, Wilf thinks you're gone! But, but you're not. You're here; alive! Or, dead. I really can't tell."

The incredulous look on Dr. Smith's face gave her pause. He spoke slowly, "You know Wilf?"

"Well, yeah. He hired us."

"He hired who?"

"Torchwood."

The confusion on Dr. Smith's face only increased. "What the hell is Torchwood?"

Rose stopped for a second, regarding the man in front of her. He really didn't know who she or any of her team was, which wasn't surprising, but it led to a very good question. "We were sent here to investigate the haunting. However, I think your friends were more interested in your disappearance than a few reports of ghosts. How are you here?"

Dr. Smith scratched the back of his head in a nervous manner, possibly contemplating his next words. "Weeelll, there was an accident with one of my machines; an accident that should never have occurred. I think someone meddled with my equipment."

Rose didn't even miss a beat. "Saxon. It was Harold Saxon, wasn't it?"

Dr. Smith's face hardened. "How do you know about Saxon?"

"Donna doesn't seem to like him very much so we did a little digging on his history. The guy has his fingers in a lot of pies, so to speak."

At the mention of Donna, a look of affection crossed Dr. Smith's face. "You've met Donna? Oh, and you mentioned Wilf. You've seen them? How are they? Is Donna still mad at me? No, wait, did Wilf ever get his telescope fixed? I told him I could do it for him but he preferred to have a 'professional' do it. Really, I'm a genius with an astronomy degree and a couple engineering degrees on top of that. I could have fixed it; don't see why he wanted to go to someone else. Oh! Have you met Sarah Jane? How long has it been? Has it been a couple of weeks or maybe a month or—"

"Whoa, slow down there. I can only keep up with some of that." Rose waved her hands in his face, hoping that it was enough to distract him from rambling again. "To answer your first question; yes, I have met Donna. And Sarah Jane and Wilf. I have no idea about the telescope thing, but, um, a lot of time has passed…"

"Oh…" He trailed off, growing quiet. "How much time?"

Rose bit her lip; this was going to be difficult. He only thought it had only been a short while in the real world, but in reality it was ten years. She didn't want to hurt him.

"Please," he begged, his eyes misting a bit, "please, tell me how long it's been."

Swallowing, Rose bit the bullet. "It's been ten years since the accident."

Dr. Smith gaped and staggered back into the chair by the desk. "Ten…ten years? It's been ten years since all this happened? But how?!"

"We thought, maybe if we could find you, though I really don't know how we could have managed that, that you would know how this happened?"

Dr. Smith just stared at the papers strewn across his desk, papers that Rose had not noticed before.

He spoke, this time devoid of emotion. "No, I have no idea how this accident happened. If I had access to my other equipment maybe I could…Oh god, it's been ten years."

A few tears slipped out of his eyes and he ran his hands over his face; he was devastated.

Rose didn't know what to say so she walked over to him and offered what little comfort she could to this Dr. John Smith.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N**: I am so sorry this took so long; I ran into a bit of writer's block at a section in this chapter. Thank you everyone for the amazing reviews and please feel free to give me feedback on this chapter. This story is un-betaed so if you see any mistakes please let me know. Enjoy! :D

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters or anything you recognize.

* * *

Rose patted the man gently on the back as his shoulders shook. What else could she do? He had no idea how much time had passed in the other dimension, their dimension? Ugh, this was so confusing. Either way, she couldn't just leave him to suffer alone, that's just not what Rose Tyler did.

Dr. Smith spent the next several minutes completely inconsolable, but Rose just let him grieve as she whispered soothing words.

This was so surreal. Rose wanted to believe it was reality, but everything just seemed too fantastic. As she looked around the room she noticed that the walls were slightly off. They seemed to warp inwards, sometimes fluctuating.

It completely was unnerving.

One last choked sob from the spikey-haired man and he wiped the rest of the tears from his face. He stood up abruptly, almost knocking Rose onto her bum. "Right then," he said, avoiding eye contact, "no use staying upset about it. There's nothing I can do at this point, just try to work with what resources I've got. And I believe that would be you."

He glanced pointedly at her then, which confused her. "What do you mean 'me'?"

He smiled shakily, still processing the information she had unceremoniously dropped on him. "You, ugh…" he paused and scrunched up his face in an adorable way that really brought out those freckles on his face.

Wait, adorable? Since when did she think he was adorable?

The very odd man in front of her whipped out a pair of black rimmed glasses and stared hard at her. She felt sort of prickly under the intensity of his gaze.

"You, um, what is your name anyway?" He had an awed expression, probably still shocked that she could even be standing before him in the first place.

"Oh! I'm so sorry, my name's Rose. Rose Tyler," she said sheepishly. Rose had been so blown away by their situation that she completely forgot to tell him who she was.

And then he gave her a smile that made her stomach flip. She ducked her head, trying to hide the blush creeping up her neck.

"Rose Tyler." The way he said her name made her toes curl. "Hm, I like that. Rose Tyler." He emphasized 'Tylah' causing her to bite her lip, suddenly shy under this man's oblivious watch. What was it about him that made her so responsive?

He was attractive, no doubt. His brown hair stuck up all over and it made him look like an excited bird, with sideburns that curved in such a way that reminded her of her favorite film version of Mr. Darcy. A dusting of freckles covered his face and his eyes were an expressive brown. A Roman nose gave him a rather handsome profile and those pair of glasses completed what her friend Shireen called the 'geek-chic' look.

"So," he said, breaking Rose out of her thoughts, "what are you doing here precisely? And I don't simply mean 'here' where we are standing, but in Gallifrey?"

"Well it's like I said, we're investigating a haunting. Torchwood is a group of paranormal investigators that was asked to investigate your home. There have been reports of ghosts and specters seen all over your property and it's scaring the locals." Rose twisted a finger into her hair in a nervous manner.

Dr. Smith was speculative for a moment. "And so Wilf invited you here to see if you could find anything unusual about this particular 'haunting' I assume?"

"Yes. Although your friends don't think that it's a haunting at all and, by the looks of it, they might be correct. If you are indeed still living that means that it might be possible for us to fix what's going on in the house, or at least that's what I would assume. Since it was your project that caused this, do you know what might have gone wrong?"

He turned towards the desk and picked up a few papers, scanning the information on each piece. "It is curious. I have been all over my notes but the problem is that the one piece of information that I desperately need wasn't in the room when the project went critical, so I have no way of getting to it."

"What do you mean?"

He sat down in the chair and rubbed his face. "There were a few documents that I left up here the night of the accident, so I'm guessing that they never got caught in the energy field that transported us here. What I have here is what I had with me at the time. The thing is, it was those other documents that really could have helped me figure out how to fix the problem with my machine, but without them I believe Lee and I are well and truly stuck. Which leads me back to you: you are here and I am beyond amazed at how that could be possible."

Rose blushed at the way he looked at her, as though she were the most amazing thing in the universe to him; which could quite possibly be true considering the situation they found themselves in. He hadn't seen anything outside this dimension for the last ten years and suddenly a woman is thrust into his strange and lonely world.

He stood up again and brought himself within inches of her, scrunching his face up and running his hand along his chin. "This is just fascinating. Who are you exactly?"

"I already told you, I'm Rose Tyler."

He laughed. Loud and joyfully. "No, no, I meant how are _you_ able to do this? I've never met anyone else other than Lee in this world all this time."

Rose smiled at his reasoning and refused to admit that his laugh made her stomach flutter. "Honestly, I have no idea. I've always been a bit different but this is definitely new."

Dr. Smith's eyebrows raised into his hairline. "Different? How so?"

"Well…I've always been able to 'sense' things. Not like a psychic but well, I just always knew things. Things that other people couldn't sense. There were no theatrics just that…feeling. And sometimes I would see things that…" She felt a bit uncomfortable talking about that part of her ability, mostly because it barely made sense to her.

Something in his expression shifted imperceptibly. "It's okay if you don't want to talk about it."

"No, no it's alright. I just don't think you'll believe me is all." Rose brushed a stray hair out of her face as she looked anywhere but at him.

Dr. Smith surprised her as he reached down and took one of her hands in his. It was a bit forward but for some reason having his fingers laced with hers felt right. He squeezed her hand encouragingly. "I'm currently trapped in a parallel dimension, one where I have been for ten years now. I'll give you the benefit of the doubt."

Rose sighed and looked up at him with as much courage as she could. "Sometimes I see things that haven't happened yet. Things that I know haven't occurred and yet will. And then they do."

Rose shuddered as she remembered the first time she experienced it and the fear it caused her.

Mouth gaping, Dr. Smith squeezed her hand harder as he tried to say something to her, maybe even to comfort her fears. That's when she realized that she was shaking. It was not something she liked to share with people and usually only those close to her knew about that part of her ability.

"That's…that should be impossible. How? When have you, I mean, were there any…experiences that…"

She nodded. "The first time it happened I was only ten years old and mum and I were on our way to the market. I turned toward the road and I saw two cars colliding, but no one else saw it. No one else saw the people hit—"

Rose had to stop as the memory assailed her just as it always did.

Leading her toward the bed again, Dr. Smith sat her down so she wouldn't collapse. It didn't matter how many years passed, the memory of that day as she walked down the street with her mother always made her react this way. Taking deep, calming breaths Rose listened to Dr. Smith murmur soothing words and rub circles with his thumb on her hand. Dr. Smith then took her other hand and did the same with that one.

When she felt ready to finally talk about her first experience, Rose squeezed Dr. Smith's hands and looked up at him. "No one else saw the drivers hit their windshields or the pedestrians that got caught in between both cars on impact. My mother couldn't understand why I would just start screaming in the middle of the sidewalk. I tried to show her the accident but she didn't see it. No one did. They all thought I was simply throwing a tantrum. That's when I knew."

Dr. Smith didn't release her hands yet, but Rose wasn't so sure that she wanted him to. In fact, she thought that he might not want to let her go either. It must have been such a comforting experience to finally have human contact aside from his assistant in such a long while. Normally, she would be alarmed by such forwardness but Dr. Smith's genuine concern warmed her heart so she let it be. Plus, she could be dreaming and why not just enjoy being held by a handsome man.

Rose's cheeks pinked.

She couldn't fool herself anymore; Rose found that she was indeed very attracted to this strange and fascinating man she just met. A man who might not be real or even alive anymore. Yes, because that's healthy.

Taking a deep breath, Rose continued her story. "After that I had to be careful about what I said around people, but even then they could tell that I was a little strange. My mum was there to protect me from the worst of it I guess, but things still seeped through. I wasn't even in the double digits yet when I met the head of what would become Torchwood. He was quite a bit young then, just moved into the area after he lost his job, but he was wonderful and fit right in with our strange family."

"He must mean a lot to you."

She smiled shakily. "Yeah. He found out about my ability and didn't judge me for it. In fact, he said that it made me unique and I shouldn't be ashamed of it. Told me to hold my head up high and be proud of everything that makes me who I am."

Dr. Smith smiled brightly. "Quite right, too."

Rose was about to say something back when her throat suddenly constricted, cutting off her air supply. She choked.

Distantly she could hear Dr. Smith frantically trying to help her but it did no good as black blotted out her vision and her eyes rolled back into her head as she passed out. If she'd been more aware, she would have noticed the irony of falling asleep in a dream.

* * *

Her lungs were starved for oxygen as she came to, heaving in deep breaths. Eyes burning from tears and the lack of air, Rose panted as she sat up. She ran her hands over herself to make sure that she was all there.

It didn't make any sense.

What had she just experienced?

Rose could not tell if it had actually been real or just a wild figment of her imagination, but whatever just happened had almost caused her to suffocate. That was disturbing. It had also never happened before since she discovered her ability.

Maybe this house really was haunted with the ghosts of its past.

Getting off the bed, Rose took some shaky steps to get the blood flowing back into her legs. She had not taken but three steps before Mickey walked into the room.

"Hey," he said and then his eyes furrowed as he took in her state, "you alright?"

She nodded slowly. "Yeah, 'm fine. Just had a bit of a scare for a moment there."

She couldn't tell him, not yet. Before Rose would explain to anyone about what just happened to her, she needed to know for herself. She silently vowed that if it happened again then she would go to Jack.

Mickey looked skeptical but didn't press her. He had seen her after some other bad experiences before so he knew that whatever he saw on her face probably told him it was nothing too serious. At least that's what she hoped he saw.

"Oookay, we just finished getting the EMF baselines for all the rooms up here and are about to start an EVP session. Care to join us? Or have you not finished yet?"

"No! I mean, yes, yes, I'm finished. Didn't feel anything other than what I had earlier. Just let me grab my stuff and I'll be right in." Rose felt compelled to smooth out the sheets on the bed until she realized that they weren't the same ones she remembered seeing just a few moments ago. Ah. She needed to get a grip on reality.

Once she finished, Rose picked up her bag and followed Mickey into one of the other rooms in the master suite. It was a smaller sitting room with several very strange contraptions in it. Rose almost giggled. They were all so whimsical and she wished that Dr. Smith was truly there so she could ask what each one of them did.

Settling in next to Jake, who was sitting in one of the plush chairs by the far wall, Rose plucked her recorder from her bag and an EMF detector from one of the cases by his feet. They had cameras set up and Mrs. Moore made sure they were the ones with the best night vision and excellent recording. Her own design, of course.

They started their session, each one taking turns with questions. Eventually they noticed that whenever Rose asked a question the EMF readings would spike so they decided to let her do a majority of the questioning after that. They asked about the house and the family at first and then turned to the night of the accident.

"What happened that night?" Rose asked calmly.

The EMF spiked higher than ever.

"Did something go wrong?"

Again it spiked.

"Am I talking to Dr. John Smith or Lee McAvoy?"

Rose felt something brush the hair away from her face and used every reserve in her not to scream. She turned to Mickey and told him to keep the camera trained on her.

"Was Harold Saxon involved with the accident?"

A clatter came from one of the other rooms; it sounded as though something fell over. Jake quickly got to his feet and grabbed a camera off the table. He strolled into the master bedroom and confirmed that something had indeed been knocked over. "Just one of the lamps by the bed."

He came back into the room and sat down in his chair, but both Mickey and Rose noticed that Jake left his camera behind. Rose pulled out the strange piece of paper from her bag and resumed her questioning.

"What does this say?"

The EMF spiked and Mickey gave Rose an odd look.

"Does this have to do with your machine, Dr. Smith?"

The instant that Rose said "Dr. Smith" something pressed lightly against her hand and if she hadn't been staring at it she would have sworn that someone was gripping her fingers.

The more questions she directed at the doctor, the more her hand was caressed by an unseen entity.

After a while Rose suggested they try out Mrs. Moore's newest invention, although there was already something similar to it being used by other paranormal investigators, this one was different. Mrs. Moore stated that it took a while but she managed to get this particular invention to fine tune to certain frequencies much faster than any other EVP recording device. In fact, the device could also pick up frequencies that other EVP devices were incapable of.

They would be able to hear 'ghost voices' in real time and interact with an intelligent haunting if it existed. The entire team had been skeptical at first but went out on a limb on this invention. They just hoped it worked.

"Alright, we are going to start a live EVP session and would like any and all people to join us." Rose said, addressing the whole room. "Now, first question, is there anyone here with us?"

It took a few seconds before the first response came over the monotone voice of the device.

'Yes.'

Rose smiled a bit and saw that Mickey had to keep from fist punching the air. "Okay," she continued, "are any of those that are here with us from the Smith family?"

Another 'yes.'

"Is there anyone here by the name of Dr. John Smith?"

'Yes.'

Rose felt the hairs on her arms and neck stand up and thought she felt the presence on her hand squeeze her fingers.

"Dr. John Smith, are you still alive?"

Mickey and Jake exchanged concerned looks, but Rose ignored them.

Almost ten seconds passed before they received an answer.

'Yes.'

Chills crawled up everyone's spines. The 'ghost' thought that it was still alive. It could be that they weren't sure that they were actually dead, but something about the certainty of the answer got to the occupants. Something about the inflection that was added to the monotone voice just made it seem so real; so alive.

"I…I think Jack wants us to meet downstairs in the foyer within the hour. We should start packing up." Mickey stuttered hastily.

Jake and Rose readily agreed and quickly gathered everything together, not quite able to shake that feeling of being watched. Rose realized at the last second that Jake had not grabbed the camera by the bed and since the two men had already made their way to stairs, she all but ran to get the camera. She couldn't lie; she wanted to get out of there as soon as possible.

After picking up the camcorder and turning to leave the room, Rose felt something brush gently against her hand again. It was cool, but not all that unpleasant. She whipped around.

There, standing just by the bed, was a black shadowed figure. There was no moon that night so she could barely see it, but it was there.

It began to move towards her.

Taking off like a bullet, Rose all but fell down the steps. She had seen a lot of strange things in her life and this job led to some of the weirdest experiences outside her ability, but never had she seen an actual full body apparition before.

No wonder people were so terrified of them.

The moment she tripped her way onto the floor in the foyer every single one of her teammates rushed over to her, worriedly checking her for any scratches or injuries. Jack tugged her towards him and asked, "Rose! What happened? I haven't seen you this scared since, well, I really don't know. I don't think I've ever seen you this scared before."

Rose shivered violently. Her nerves were screaming at her to run for her life and never look back, but there was a niggling sensation at the back of her mind telling her that there was something important here.

Something that needed to be fixed.

Jack coddled her in his arms and rubbed his hands over her back, telling her that she would be alright. As her panic subsided Rose pulled out of Jack's arms with a weak smile and gave the camera to Mickey.

That's when they realized that the camera was still on and recording and Rose had to explain that she had seen something in the master bedroom. Everyone was stunned; never before had any of their members seen a full on apparition and now they may have recorded evidence of it. Mrs. Moore took the camera to review what happened during those minutes that Rose had left it on. Everyone made certain that she was going to be okay before walking over to where Mrs. Moore had the video set up.

"Alright, here we see Rose going into the room and grabbing the camcorder. She is walking past the bed and-THERE!" She paused the video right as Rose turned to face the bed.

Standing just by one of the intricately carved posts was the tall, shadowy figure.

Everyone was shocked by what they were witnessing; it was video confirmation of what Rose had seen.

Mickey wrapped an arm around her shoulders in comfort. It was disturbing how close she was to that, well, whatever it was. Taking a shuddering breath, Rose leaned into her friend's shoulder and tried not to think about that experience.

Rose had seen horrific events yet to come and not batted an eyelash, but stick her in a room with a potential dead person floating around as a ghost and she was so terrified that she couldn't even run straight. Maybe it was comparing apples to oranges, but she had hoped that it would have at least prepared her for something like this.

Jack walked over to them and put his arms around both Mickey and her, whispering, "Don't worry, we'll figure this out and then we'll be gone. If anything happens just remember that we're all here for you. Okay, Rosie-girl?"

Rose simply nodded, but was unable to rid herself of that foreboding feeling of things yet to come.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N**: I apologize for being extremely late with this chapter. Unfortunately, I cannot say when the next chapter will be out but I hope it will be done sometime within the next month. Again, I apologize for this.

Aside from that, here is the next chapter! :) I am little nervous about this particular chapter, but I hope you like it.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Doctor Who or any of its characters.

* * *

They quickly packed up all their equipment and waited for Wilf to arrive with the key so he could lock up the estate. As they all took turns keeping an eye on Rose, they pondered what they were going to do for the other nights of the investigation. They were far from done and there was still the matter of Dr. Smith's workshop. If anything, Rose might have to sit out the rest of the time they were there, but she immediately squashed that plan as she didn't want to be a handicap on the team.

As dawn crept over the hedges of the front gardens, the team heard a light knock on the door and Wilf's cheerful voice calling out, "Everyone alive in there?"

Breathing sighs of relief, the entire team grabbed different pieces of equipment to haul back to their vehicles. Wilf poked his head through the door with a wary smile on his face. "Alright?"

"Yeah, just a long night." Jack gave the older man a disarming grin, hoping to pacify any fears that he might have.

Wilf stepped out of their way, but not before noticing the look on Rose's face. "You alright, dear?"

Rose, taken aback by the sudden question, fumbled over her words for a moment before answering. "Y—yeah. The house is just a bit…spooky."

Nodding in agreement, Wilf said, "Yes, it is unnerving to those who haven't been around it for long. I hope it hasn't scared you away."

"Oh no, just a bit shaken, I guess." Rose smiled at him before nodding and walking away. When she turned back to look at Wilf, she noticed that he was staring at some of the hedges around the estate. His expression was rather grim.

Rose turned to look at them too and she noticed something; the vegetation appeared even more withered and some of the trees had branches cracked in half, limbs dangling by a sliver of wood. The hedges had gaping holes in them that appeared new.

Turning her attention towards Jack, Rose gave him a skeptical look, questioning silently about the night's events. He avoided direct eye contact and she knew that something was going on. Shuffling over to him, just as he was about to climb into the front seat of his car, Rose blocked his path, glaring and crossing her arms firmly over her chest. "Talk."

He attempted to edge around her to get to the driver's side door but she was having none of it. "Something happened last night, other than that apparition. What occurred outside?"

"Rose, now is not the best time—"

"Do not try to weasel out of this one, Jack Harkness! If I don't get you to talk about this now, it's very unlikely you'll ever speak about it again," Rose hissed.

Pressing his lips into a thin line, Jack leaned against the car and gestured for Ianto to catch a ride with Mickey. Rose took that as her cue to get into Jack's vehicle and she hopped into the passenger's seat. They both waited for everyone else to wrap up before pulling out, leaving Wilf to lock up.

As all the other cars took off for the B & B, Jack kept driving along the country roads, still completely silent. Rose grew tired of his evasiveness and cleared her throat pointedly and Jack sighed.

"Fine. We…witnessed some things last night that we weren't sure we really saw. Thing is, you know that animal noise that Mickey had us listen to?"

Rose nodded. "Yeah."

He grimaced slightly, not looking at her. "Well, we heard it again last night."

"Okay." She was confused, wasn't that what they were after?

Jack pulled the car over onto a small outlet just off the side of the road before continuing. "We heard it without any equipment. It was about ten meters away from us, but it was loud and clear. For a moment…we thought…"

"You thought what?" Rose prodded him.

Jack swallowed roughly, a stricken look on his face. "We thought we heard it…say something. It wasn't in any language we could recognize but it was so distinct that we couldn't help but wonder if…if it was trying to communicate at first."

Communication. Intelligent haunting. Possibly demonic? All these thoughts whorled around in Rose's mind. What could any of this mean? First she sees an apparition and now she finds out that something may have happened with Jack and Ianto.

Now that she thought about it, Ianto seemed very eager to leave the Smith Estate earlier in the day. What had they seen? Rose couldn't help but think back to what happened in the master bedroom when she had her…dream? None of this made sense. Was John Smith still alive? What was the creature that haunted the estate grounds?

What was the 'Bad Wolf Phenomenon' and was it connected to the occurrences at the estate?

Knowing that it was unlikely Rose would actually get any information about the 'Phenomenon' from Jack, she decided to at least get his opinion on it. Maybe the creature was related to the 'Bad Wolf Phenomenon' somehow? It was worth a try.

"Jack?"

Turning to face her, his eyes squinted in the light of rising sun. "Yeah?"

"Do you think…do you think that all this, what's happening at the estate, is connected to…"

Frowning, Jack lifted a brow in confusion. "Connected to what?"

"Connected to…the 'Bad Wolf Phenomenon'?"

Rose could tell the instant the words were out of her mouth that Jack knew exactly what she was talking about. His eyes narrowed and his expression became hard and cold. "Rose, answer me this and do not lie. How do you know about the 'Bad Wolf Phenomenon'?"

She swallowed, suddenly unsure if she should have even brought it up in the first place. Quietly, almost too hard for even her to hear, Rose whispered, "We came across it yesterday. In the city hall archives. Dr. Smith's aunt, Ushas Saxon, had been working on it before she was sent to prison. I was just wondering if you thought it might be connected."

Jack's hands convulsed on the steering wheel as he tried to control his emotions. Rose was more a little apprehensive to hear his response. He was quiet for only a few seconds before speaking. "Ianto told you about it, am I correct?"

Rose hesitated. "Yes, but he didn't tell me much."

"He shouldn't have told you anything at all," he hissed.

Rose was furious. "And why not?! Judging by the way you're responding I'm going to guess that it may be attached to what happened at that estate."

"It's not the estate that it's attached to, it's y—" He cut himself off before turning away to look out the driver's side window towards the horizon. "It's going to storm tonight."

Thrown by the complete change in direction of the conversation, Rose spluttered, "What? No, I mean, what were you going to say?"

"Rose, there are some things that are better left in the past to be forgotten." Jack rubbed his face with his hand and avoided looking at her. A cold chill ran up her spine at the way Jack emphasized his words; he wasn't telling her something again and she was not going to let this one go.

"Jack, what is the 'Bad Wolf Phenomenon' really? Something happened last night, something that none of us can explain and I just know that whatever Ushas Saxon was working on is somehow connected. So talk." If she were standing, Rose would have had her hands on her hips with a dangerous expression that would have done Jackie Tyler proud.

The sun was now in both of their eyes, but they ignored it as they had a stare down in the car. Jack finally broke eye contact. "Fine. My boss is going to have my head for this but you're already involved so there is nothing else for it."

Rose grinned at her victory. "Okay then, what is it and how is it connected to Dr. Smith?"

She really wanted to know more about the spiky haired man, but wasn't entirely sure if he was even connected to the whole thing, despite being Ushas' nephew. He was so intriguing and Rose hoped that he hadn't been involved with his aunt's work. At least not directly.

Jack leaned down and pressed his forehead against the steering wheel in frustration. "It was something not too different from Project MK-ULTRA during the Cold War era in the United States. It was secret testing that had been performed on patients who were not aware that they were even being tested on."

Rose gasped. She had heard of the MK-ULTRA programs and what types of testing had been done using different kinds of drugs and hypnosis. It was about mind control.

"You mean…they tested on unwitting subjects?" Rose prodded.

Jack swallowed before looking her straight in the eye. "Yes. The Bad Wolf Phenomenon was tested in a similar manner utilizing both hypnosis and drugs and…" He trailed off and rubbed his eyes with his palms.

"And?" Rose had to know; he couldn't keep her in the dark about this.

"And a newly discovered energy source."

"What energy source?"

Jack groaned and whispered the next sentence in a very quiet voice, as though someone else might be listening. "Huon energy; they were dosing patient's drinks with Huon particles."

Rose was confused. "What are 'Huon' particles? I've never heard of them."

"At first, no one outside of those who were working with the Bad Wolf Phenomenon knew about them. At the time, there had been virtually no knowledge of these strange particles and what they were capable of except…"

"Jack, just tell me!" Rose was getting fed up with Jack's constant pauses.

"The Smith Family."

Silence filled the car.

"What?" Rose gasped. "What do you mean?"

Jack reached over and grabbed one of Rose's hands in his, giving it a comforting squeeze. "The Smith Family has been very prominent in the sciences for generations and the first person to discover Huon energy was Dr. Smith's grandfather, but it was Ushas Saxon who really researched it. She was a large part of the Blaidd Drwg Project."

Rose furrowed her eyebrows in confusion as she recognized something Jack mentioned. "The 'Blaidd Drwg Project'? I remember coming across something under that name. Wasn't there another member of the family by the name Romana who was involved with it too?"

Jack looked impressed that she knew so much about the project already. "Yes, although she was more involved with the legalities of the project and pulled out before Mrs. Saxon got fully immersed. They were not, shall we say, on very good terms."

Silence stretched between them as Rose pondered over everything Jack had just told her. There was one thing that she had to know. "Is that why you took this job, Jack? Do you think Dr. Smith was involved?"

Rose felt defensive of John, er, Dr. Smith. For what reasons she didn't know, but felt deep in her gut that he wasn't a part of the illegal actions of the 'Blaidd Drwg Project.' He wasn't like Ushas Saxon or her son.

Jack sat there, not looking at her anymore and Rose knew she had her answer. She was angry, not just because he lied to her, but because he was still withholding information. "What else, Jack? What else haven't you told me?"

"Rose, please—"

"Don't 'Rose' me! What else have you been hiding from us, Jack?! This isn't about any paranormal investigation, is it?" She slammed her fist against the dash, fury radiating off her. "What about the 'out of body' stuff?"

This caught Jack's attention as he turned his focus on her, his eyes unreadable. "Rose, what do you know about that?" His voice was low and deadly calm.

Something wasn't right.

"I only know what Ianto told me. He said that the 'Bad Wolf Phenomenon' happened when someone was induced into an out of body experience on a different plane and they were able to create a second body in that plane of existence. What else is there?" She waited for him to respond, biting her lip as anxiety built up in her gut.

Is that what happened to her? Was she experimented on? But she had never been in a hospital long enough to become involved, had she? None of it made sense.

"Rosie, you know I would do anything to protect you, right?" Jack inquired, his expression still guarded.

Rose sighed. "Of course, but what does that have to do with this?"

"I would do anything within my abilities to keep you safe, even if it meant protecting you from yourself." Jack said carefully, his expression finally softening as he looked at her.

Shivers ran down her spine as Rose asked, "What do mean 'protecting me from myself?' Jack what, what…" She was scared; terrified of what his answer might be.

"Rose, you were not one of the patients. I know you're thinking about it, but…" He paused as he worried his lip in frustration. "This is difficult to explain. Please, do not think that I was trying to keep you in the dark about this forever; however, I didn't want you to find out until absolutely necessary. You were not one of the patients because you were not born when the testing happened, but—" He stopped and squeezed her hand.

"But what?" Rose asked breathlessly. It felt as though there were a vice around her lungs and she couldn't breathe properly.

Jack swallowed. "But your father was."

"My father? What do you mean?" The thoughts racing through her mind made her panic. Her father? He was one of the patients? What had they done to him?!

"He was in one of the hospitals they were testing at. You remember when your mum told you he spent a long time in the hospital once because he was sick?" Jack asked her, his hand still holding hers just in case. "It was two years before you were born."

"Yeah." Of course she remembered. Her mother told her everything she could about her late father Pete, who passed away within a year of her birth. Her mother raised her alone, but she had some support from family friends like Jack, who met Jackie after he lost his job. He became very close to Rose and Jackie over the years and even helped Jackie stay afloat in times of crisis.

"He was being given a variety of drugs that he was told were helping him, but it was actually some of the Huon particle solution that was being given to some of the other patients in the same ward." Starting the car again, Jack left it in park as he finished what he was going to say. "Your mum became pregnant two months after your dad's release from the hospital and a few weeks later the Blaidd Drwg Project was discontinued."

With those last words, Jack pulled out of the little outlet on the side of the road and they drove back to Rassilon's Bed & Breakfast. Rose was quiet for a while before asking Jack one question that bothered her about the conversation they just had. "What does that mean for me?"

Jack lips pursed and he didn't look at her. "It means that you're not an experiment. Rose, you are unique and different from those around you, but that doesn't make you a victim of their project. You are Rose Tyler. My Rosie. I didn't mean for it sound like I was trying to protect you from your abilities, but I'm afraid of what other people, namely those who were attached to the original project, might do if they discovered what you are capable of. I am not going to let someone hurt you or your mother. I am going to protect you, Rosie. Don't ever doubt that."

His words were earnest and he squeezed her hand again to emphasize his promise.

"Who also knows about my father's connection to the project?" She asked.

Jack sighed. "Ianto and Mrs. Moore, but they love you and are helping me keep you safe. Mickey and Jake are protecting you too, though they aren't aware of the exact circumstances behind what happened to your father."

"We have to tell them, Jack. There are some things that happened that I need to tell you too. Things that happened last night," Rose said.

Eyes furrowing, Jack turned towards her for a second before pulling into the parking lot of the B & B. "Rose, what happened? Why didn't you say anything earlier?" He was worried and slightly panicked.

"I thought I was hallucinating because of what I found out earlier that day. I didn't know there might be a possibility it could all be true!" She was aggravated, but mostly nervous about how Jack would react to what happened to her.

If what she saw and experienced was real, there was the possibility that Dr. John Smith was real and that changed everything. This was no longer a paranormal investigation. She wasn't sure what it was, but things were going to change and something still needed to be done about the Smith Estate no matter what. Things were getting worse and shrugging it off would only cause more damage.

"Rose, tell me exactly what you saw. Please. This is very important," he pleaded, eyes desperate.

She felt uncomfortable all of a sudden, more so than earlier. It wasn't how she expected to tell him, but he was right; she needed to tell someone about what she saw.

"I think I had an out of body experience," she said, slightly hysterical.

It wasn't until Jack wrapped his arms around her that she realized she was crying. The entire night she held it together, brushed it off, but now it was all hitting her. Rose never realized how terrified she was; not knowing what was happening or if it was even real, but it was starting to make some sense. Pressing her forehead to Jack's shoulder, Rose sobbed.

A knock on the window caught their attention; Mickey was standing beside Rose's door looking incredibly worried. Wiping away a few stray tears, Rose thanked Jack before unbuckling her seatbelt and climbing out of the car.

Mickey was staring at Jack as he wrapped his arms around Rose. "What happened?" he asked.

"There are some things we need to discuss. Tell everyone to meet in my room." Jack grabbed some of the more expensive equipment and brought it inside the B & B. Mickey held onto Rose as they followed after him.

"Rose, are you okay?" Mickey asked her. He looked a bit panicked at seeing her cry. It had been such a long time since she wept; the last time she had done it front of Mickey was over Jimmy Stone.

She hesitated. "I will be. I just, let's just get inside. Please, Mickey?"

He nodded and helped her into the foyer of the B & B because she was shaking harder than ever.

This entire investigation was beginning to overwhelm Rose and she really just wanted to get some sleep, but there were still things that needed to be discussed.

Everyone assembled in Jack and Ianto's room, setting up the equipment just the same as the night before. Rose could see in everyone's expression that they knew something was off, but after her reaction last night, it didn't come as a surprise.

Jack cleared his throat as everyone settled in. "Everyone settled? Alright, well, there are some topics we need to discuss."

Rose felt Mickey tighten his arms around her, rubbing soothing circles on her back.

Shooting her a quick glance, Jack began his side of events about what Rose had experienced and the basic nature of the 'Bad Wolf Phenomenon.' Not surprisingly, those who had never heard of the phenomenon were taken aback by the whole thing. Just as Jack said, Mrs. Moore and Ianto were not surprised by any of it because of their own prior knowledge.

Jack was still withholding information, but Rose was too tired to press him on it. When all was said and done, everyone sat in stunned silence as Rose recalled her side of events that night.

"You saw him?" Mrs. Moore asked, her voice incredulous.

Rose nodded, not trusting her voice anymore.

"Blimey." Mickey stared at his friend as she shifted uncomfortably in his arms. "Rose, why didn't you say anything earlier? Well, I can probably guess why. Never mind. Are you okay? Do you want us to take turns keeping an eye on you?"

Not able to stifle a yawn, Rose shook her head, but Jack jumped in before she could say anything. "Rose, why don't you get some sleep? I'm going to be analyzing some of the evidence we received last night with Mrs. Moore and Mickey. Jake will bring up some food later. We'll all get some sleep when we're done. Ianto, would you?"

"Of course. I'll just be researching on the internet for a while. Rose, it's best you stay where we can keep an eye on you. Just in case." Ianto walked over to Rose and laid a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it comfortingly.

Rose would have protested to the whole plan any other time, but she really didn't want to be alone and exhaustion was quickly sapping her will to argue. She nodded and let Mickey guide her back to her room.

Ianto came up a few moments later with his laptop and some biscuits, Mickey said a few words to him before leaving. By the time Ianto set up his things on the desk, Rose had washed her face and changed. He offered her a biscuit, which she took gladly. She wasn't all that hungry, but something in her stomach was better than nothing.

Rose lay down on her bed and listened to Ianto's rhythmic typing, her eyes drooping. It wasn't long before she drifted off.


End file.
